If every single student were to be placed in an AP calculus class, some, if not most, kids would struggle to maintain a good grade or stay focused because of the atmosphere of the class. The atmosphere would be serious and the class would have a large workload, which is an environment that not all kids can excel in.

In the lunchroom, some students prefer it quiet while others prefer to have a lot of freedom. For many, lunch is a time that allows students from all grade levels to catch up with each other while eating. Some activities occur during lunch shifts such as fundraisers for clubs and sports, while some enjoy to walk around and talk; however, all of these cause the atmosphere to become loud and hectic. Depending on the number of people and the grade level of most people in a lunch shift, it can affect the atmosphere. Some students seem not to care about the loud atmosphere, while others wish it was more peaceful.

Sophomore Asia Smith has C lunch on A and B days. She expresses that it can be busy at different times, depending on the day.

“On Fridays you have more people riled up because there is music playing and everyone is ready for the weekend,” Smith stated.

Freshman Claire Spears has A lunch on A days and B lunch on B days. She explains the difference in the atmosphere of different lunch shifts, specifically how much more hectic C lunch is than A or B.

“During B lunch it’s pretty quiet because there are not a lot of people there but with A lunch, it’s not as bad as C lunch which I had last semester, I think both A and B are pretty good,” Spears said.

Senior Anica Contreras has the privilege of leaving during lunch and describes why she takes advantage of this opportunity.

“I think it’s loud in the lunchroom so I usually go home for lunch,” Contreras said. This may explain that students leave during lunch because they don’t like the atmosphere.

Smith, Spears, and Contreras all shared a similar opinion about what they like about lunch. They all expressed that although it can be loud at times, it still gives them the opportunity to take a break, see their friends, or catch up on work. This shows that students are able to deal with the things they don’t like about lunch because they things that they do like can make up for them.

“I like lunch because I don’t have to work and I can take a break,” Contreras stated.

Spears talked about the benefits of seeing friends during lunch.

“With my A lunch I get to see a lot of my friends and talk to them, with my other lunch, I get to see friends that I don’t normally talk to,” Spears explained.

Contreras and Smith mentioned the changes they hope to see in the next few years with lunch.

“I wish they could possibly put the bins for pizza boxes out again, and continue to play music. Other than that and kids continuing to clean up after themselves, I’m fine with lunch,” Smith expressed.

Though there are some problems with lunch and it can get loud at times, Spears, Smith, and Contreras stated that it is overall good due to the freedom and opportunity for a break. Lunch highly depends on your grade level because of the opportunity to leave, and the lunch shift you recieve on your schedule. Despite these differences between students, they still tend to share similar opinions. The atmosphere at lunch may not work for every student. Some students would prefer a quiet environment, while other students would prefer the environment that includes a lot of freedom. There may not be a lot to do about this because you can’t have the complete version of both atmospheres. If students were required to be more calm or peaceful during lunch but still have the ability to move around and keep their freedom, it may help make both sides happier.